Support Forum Deletion Policies

The ICN Support Forum is meant to be a sanctuary for IC patients in need of sharing and support. We maintain that peace by implementing a set of rules.

The ICN team of staff, supermoderators and moderators delete messages which are:

  1. Inappropriate medical advice – No patient can nor should give direct medical advice – only a personal physician can do this.
  2. Malicious, disrespectful or hurtful comments about others – We do not allow personal attacks or hate speech in our forum.
  3. Commercial solicitations for products – This is one of our “hot buttons.” You may NOT profit from the ICN by selling your products or goods in our support forum without prior permission. Please do not pretend to be a patient in order to promote a product. Please contact Jill directly by email if you have a product to discuss or promote.
  4. Pornographic materials
  5. Comments intended to generate controversy
  6. Comments that could generate legal liability for our web site
  7. Encouraging suicidal behavior.

Why does the ICN delete some messages from it’s message boards.

Operating a support forum isn’t as easy as it appears. We have more than forty thousand participants, each with a wide variety of needs, experiences and opinions. We have IC patients who are well adjusted and able to offer support to others. We also have patients who are desperate for information and support. We see patients who have overwhelming personal issues unrelated to their IC, such as divorce or family issues. And, we see IC patients who are in need of both physical and emotional care, due to severe depression, anger or anxiety.

Conflict between people inevitably happens. It is not, however, the norm. In general, nearly all postings are positive, helpful and supportive. However, there are a few individuals out of the thousands that we see each month, who consistently create conflict. Their behavior requires firm guidelines.

It is also important to understand the dynamics of a health related discussion board. Patients in pain are more vulnerable. Sometimes they forget our golden rule of “debate the message, not the morality or integrity of the author.” It is inevitable that there will be times when pain and frustration can result in unintentional or inappropriate postings (we all do this), or a message may be misinterpreted by others. When conflict happens, our goal is to step in and remove offending posts, if needed.

Who determines which postings will be deleted?

ICN Moderators and Supermoderators have the option of deleting a message from their boards which they feel are inappropriate. ICNDonna and I have access to the board control panels and occasionally delete posts as requested by board volunteers. In addition, individual ICN participants may request, at any time, that posts be deleted which they find offensive. To insure prompt attention, participants MUST bring this to our attention by phone or e-mail.

Can you delete just one reply to a message or must you delete the whole string?

Message strings containing any offending content or post are subject to deletion. Experience has shown us that once an inappropriate response has been posted, more will follow. This means that if you post a nice response, but someone after you “loses it,” we usually have no choice but to delete the whole string. Please do not take this personally.

If my post is deleted, who should I talk with to find out why?

If you have a post that has been deleted and would like to know the reasons why, please feel free to contact ICNDonna by private message or ICNMgrJill. You can private message us through the forum.

How does the ICN deal with repeated violations by one individual?

Posting in the ICN message boards is a privilege we offer, at no cost, to our participants. If an individual repeatedly violates the guidelines of the ICN, that person will be advised, by private email that future postings must be supportive in nature. Continued abuse may result in being banned from ICN message boards through the use of an IP blocker. Posting privileges will be revoked to those who repeatedly violate our goals, guidelines and spirit of support.

IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS POLICY, I WELCOME YOUR CONFIDENTIAL FEEDBACK AND QUESTIONS. PLEASE CONTACT ICNMGRJILL BY PHONE (707)538-9442 OR EMAIL jill@ic-network.com

Updated & Revised: August 2013